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From Here to Forever
No such message has ever been given in past ages. Paul, as
we have seen, did not preach it; he pointed into the then far-distant
future for the coming of the Lord. The Reformers did not proclaim
it. Martin Luther placed the judgment about 300 years into the future
from his day. But since 1798 the book of Daniel has been unsealed,
and many have proclaimed the message of the judgment near.
In Different Countries Simultaneously
Like the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the Advent Move-
ment appeared in different countries at the same time. Men of faith
were led to study the prophecies and saw convincing evidence that
the end was at hand. Isolated bodies of Christians, solely by the
study of the Scriptures, arrived at the belief that the Saviour’s advent
was near.
Three years after Miller had arrived at his exposition of the
prophecies, Dr. Joseph Wolff, “the missionary to the world,” began
to proclaim the Lord’s soon coming. Born in Germany of Hebrew
parentage, he was, while very young, convinced of the truth of the
Christian religion. He had been an eager listener to conversations
in his father’s house as devout Hebrews assembled to recount the
hopes of their people, the glory of the coming Messiah, and the
restoration of Israel. One day, hearing Jesus of Nazareth mentioned,
the boy inquired who He was. “A Jew of the greatest talent,” was the
answer; “but as He pretended to be the Messiah, the Jewish tribunal
sentenced Him to death.”
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“Why,” rejoined the questioner, “is Jerusalem destroyed, and
why are we in captivity?”
“Alas, alas!” answered his father, “because the Jews murdered
the prophets.” The thought was at once suggested to the child: “Per-
haps Jesus was also a prophet, and the Jews killed Him when He
was innocent.” Though forbidden to enter a Christian church, he
would often linger outside to listen to the preaching. When only
seven years old, he was boasting to a Christian neighbor of the future
triumph of Israel at the advent of the Messiah. The old man said
kindly: “Dear boy, I will tell you who the real Messiah was: He
was Jesus of Nazareth, ... whom your ancestors have crucified. ...